EDITORIAL: PAC flak and politics as usual

Published: Friday, August 8, 2014 at 04:31 PM.

State Rep. Matt Gaetz’s strategy for running Okaloosa County incumbents out of office may seem new, but voters will have to handle it the old-fashioned way. They’ll have to listen to the arguments pro and con, decide which are more convincing and vote accordingly.
What this ultimately is about, then, is politics as usual.
A little background: Rep. Gaetz — who was re-elected in June without opposition — hasn’t tried to hide his disdain for what he considers an incompetent batch of county officials. “I wouldn’t trust the Okaloosa County Commission to control an ant farm,” he said in April 2013. Nor has he tried to hide his behind-the-scenes involvement in fund-raising and political action committees that are targeting incumbents.
One such target is Don Amunds, a focus of recent mailouts and automated phone messages, or robocalls. “I feel strongly Don Amunds should be held responsible for his actions as a county commissioner,” Rep. Gaetz said the other day.
All right. Fair enough. What the legislator is doing happens to be legal — though some voters may object to the use of “outside” money to influence a local election.
Objections or not, voters still are able to judge the accuracy and fairness of the charges being leveled, just as they can judge the accuracy and fairness of all campaign rhetoric. This newspaper’s series of candidate profiles, beginning Aug. 11 and continuing through Aug. 15, should help in that regard. A report Aug. 10 on what’s at stake for public policy will put the 2014 campaign in perspective.
In addition, voters can decide for themselves whether a candidate’s perceived shortcomings are outweighed by his or her strengths.
And, if they’re troubled by PACs, robocalls and outside money, they can decide whether Rep. Gaetz’s message, strictly legal and aboveboard though it appears to be, is tainted by the way he has chosen to deliver it.
The current PAC flak carries Rep. Gaetz’s toss-’em-out message to the public, that’s for sure. But voters will have the final say.

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State Rep. Matt Gaetz’s strategy for running Okaloosa County incumbents out of office may seem new, but voters will have to handle it the old-fashioned way. They’ll have to listen to the arguments pro and con, decide which are more convincing and vote accordingly.
What this ultimately is about, then, is politics as usual.
A little background: Rep. Gaetz — who was re-elected in June without opposition — hasn’t tried to hide his disdain for what he considers an incompetent batch of county officials. “I wouldn’t trust the Okaloosa County Commission to control an ant farm,” he said in April 2013. Nor has he tried to hide his behind-the-scenes involvement in fund-raising and political action committees that are targeting incumbents.
One such target is Don Amunds, a focus of recent mailouts and automated phone messages, or robocalls. “I feel strongly Don Amunds should be held responsible for his actions as a county commissioner,” Rep. Gaetz said the other day.
All right. Fair enough. What the legislator is doing happens to be legal — though some voters may object to the use of “outside” money to influence a local election.
Objections or not, voters still are able to judge the accuracy and fairness of the charges being leveled, just as they can judge the accuracy and fairness of all campaign rhetoric. This newspaper’s series of candidate profiles, beginning Aug. 11 and continuing through Aug. 15, should help in that regard. A report Aug. 10 on what’s at stake for public policy will put the 2014 campaign in perspective.
In addition, voters can decide for themselves whether a candidate’s perceived shortcomings are outweighed by his or her strengths.
And, if they’re troubled by PACs, robocalls and outside money, they can decide whether Rep. Gaetz’s message, strictly legal and aboveboard though it appears to be, is tainted by the way he has chosen to deliver it.
The current PAC flak carries Rep. Gaetz’s toss-’em-out message to the public, that’s for sure. But voters will have the final say.